FEC hunts BTR partner for 1,500 homes at Victoria North  

The developer is looking to appoint an investment partner to back the build-to-rent portion of the £4bn Manchester masterplan. 

Far East Consortium has appointed Savills Operational Capital Markets to secure a strategic investment partner for an initial BTR opportunity focused on Victoria North’s Red Bank neighbourhood, which will deliver around 1,500 homes. 

In total, the Red Bank area, which stretches from Manchester Victoria to Collyhurst, will feature 5,500 homes. 

FEC recently agreed a deal with affordable housing specialist L&Q to deliver 20% of the homes being developed in the first phase of the Red Bank. The first phase comprises 634 apartments within Victoria Riverside. 

A public consultation on the wider Red Bank vision is ongoing. 

In total, Victoria North could deliver 15,000 homes across almost 400 acres north of Manchester city centre over the next 20 years. 

The masterplan consists of seven neighbourhoods: Collyhurst Village, South Collyhurst, New Cross, New Town, Red Bank, Vauxhall Gardens and Smedley Dip & Eggington Street.  

“Victoria North will play a leading role in Manchester’s housing strategy in the next decade,” said Tom Pool, senior development manager at FEC. 

“Working with an ambitious investment partner will strengthen our ability to deliver a mix of high-quality homes as we look to support a diverse and cohesive community that will eventually be home to 40,000 people.” 

Piers de Winton, director at Savills Operational Capital Markets, said: “Manchester’s BTR market continues to perform strongly. Critically, though, Victoria North will be one of the first projects to diversify the private rental offer at scale, delivering the high-quality, lower density suburban models that renters desire but cannot obtain in the city centre.  

“With FEC and Manchester City Council developing 15,000 homes in the next 10-15 years, it represents an outstanding opportunity for an ambitious investor to contribute to the most exciting regeneration project in the city’s history.”